Shizuoka police find 4 knives after stabbing leaves 1 dead in Mishima

Yuki Hanami allegedly stabbed a man, 53, to death in Mishima City on July 6 (TV Asahi)

SHIZUOKA (TR) – Shizuoka Prefectural Police have discovered a total of four knives in the possession of a male suspect and at the scene of a stabbing last week in Mishima City that left one person dead, reports the Jiji Press (July 7).

At 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, Yuki Hanami, a 27-year-old company employee, allegedly stabbed Kenji Masuyama, 53, in the abdomen with a knife on a street in the Kotobukicho area.

The victim later died after being transported to a nearby hospital, according to the Mishima Police Station.

After the incident, the suspect lodged a report with police. He was later found with two knives in his possession. Officers also found two other knives at the scene of the crime.

Hanami was charged with attempted murder. “He was a passerby, and I stabbed him at random,” the suspect told police. The following day the charges against the suspect were changed to murder when he was prosecuted.

Prior to the incident, Hanami set fire to a futon in his residence, police said, according to the Sankei Shimbun (July 8).